The Oak Tree Farm of retired National Hunt jockey Norman Williamson and his wife Janet is responsible for Classic-winning graduates on both sides of the Atlantic. The operation sold future 2019 GI Preakness S. winner War of Will (War Front) and 2022 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) at Arqana Breeze-Up Sales. The Williamsons' search for pinhooking prospects encompasses the international stage, as well.

“The world has become a smaller place,” Norman Williamson said. “I've been doing this for 19 years or so and when I first went to America, there were a huge amount of horses that you wouldn't bother looking at, especially the dirt-bred horses. But now, your list tends to be a lot longer. The past couple of years, we've had a sale in Dubai. We are selling horses around the world basically, to Saudi and back to America. I suppose the best example was War of Will. He was pinhooked by an Irishman, he sold in France and he gets back to America to run in the Kentucky Derby and win the Preakness. That wouldn't have happened 20 years ago, I don't think, because people were thinking, 'We will go to America and just buy the turf-bred horses.' Now I think we can look at most horses.”

For Williamson, the vet report goes hand-in-hand with consideration of a yearling's potential price tag.

“We go through the full vetting,” he said. “Sometimes it will depend on the price range, as in what you can forgive and what you can't forgive. I can't forgive bad knees or if the X-rays of his knees aren't great. For breezing, it tends not to work. They get knee pain and you're in trouble from an early stage. So there are certain things that you can put up with, but the price also has to come into account. If you are going to give what we call good money for a horse, well you need to have a clean set of X-rays because it's very important at the other end.”

Williamson said buying horses to resell automatically eliminates some horses with vetting issues.

“I would have put up with plenty of things, only when I am re-selling, those people won't,” he said. “I have a horse that is breezing well and he's 100% sound, but if his X-rays aren't clean they are going to say, 'Well he's going to go lame at some point.' Most of the breeze-up people know if you get a horse to a breeze and he's very sound, whatever his issues are, they are probably not going to come against him if he can take all of that early. We put up with a bit, but because of the other end–for instance, if you are selling to Hong Kong, they have to be absolutely squeaky clean and also if it's a big-money horse, they have to be clean. But it's not necessarily the answer to soundness, in my opinion.”

He continued, “There are quite a few things that wouldn't bother me in the slightest. Sesamoiditis, for me, is just a bit of time. I have never had any trouble with it. And every single horse seems to have had sesamoiditis. Everyone mentions sesamoiditis, but if the joints and legs handle well and they are tight and they look good, I don't tend to have any problems with them. You can't just go galloping tomorrow morning. You've got to take your time. But I haven't had any trouble with it.”

And vet issues are always subjective.

“As we all know, some vets are more critical than others,” Williamson said. “It is the same process, but you tend to find the racehorse vets, as in people who are going in and out of trainers' yards every morning, tend to accept a lot more because they are seeing it every day. If you just have a vet who is sent there to make the horse squeaky clean, well he won't pass much. But the guys that really see these 2-year-olds and see what they can put up with and they don't tend to go lame on things, they will pass them. You'll be passed with a comment. So it does depend quite a bit on the vet. But again going back to it, if you're looking for a big result and big money, you need to have them pretty good.”

When he returns to sell juveniles in the spring, Williamson acknowledged there are some buyers who will take his assessment of his horses into consideration, in addition to the vet report.

“You can certainly talk to trainers and to some of the agents,” he said of discussing the impact, or non-impact, of perceived vet issues in horses he has been training all winter. “But you've also got to realize that some of these agents are employed by some wealthy businessmen and if the horse does go wrong, they have to go back and say whatever. So you do build up a rapport with your trainers and with your customers. And yes, they do start to believe you, because if you don't tell the truth, you're not going to be in business for very long. The trainers can put up with a certain amount, and will say, 'that doesn't bother me' or 'that doesn't bother me.' But it's a tricky one, the agent might understand you and might totally believe you, but he's got to go to a businessman who is investing his money. So I can see where they are coming from as well. They want everything squeaky clean from their point of view. If you stand there and tell somebody we think this is a good horse and he has probably breezed five times and he hasn't been made to go very fast and I really like him, in time, if the horse is a good horse, they will be back to you.”

The all-important clock dominates the under-tack shows at 2-year-old sales in the U.S. and, while a :9 3/5 furlong work might turn heads in Ocala, there is no official timing at the European breeze-up sales. The difference reflects the different nature of racing in Europe versus America, according to Williamson.

“I think, from a horseman's point of view–and I used to ride myself–European racing is very different from American racing,” Williamson said. “They tend to start off slow and they tend to quicken up–American turf racing is now like it, they quicken off the bend. But dirt racing looks to me like it's the horses that go the fastest for the longest. They break from the gate and they go very quick. Breezing probably doesn't make much difference to that type of horse, but if you have a horse here and you want him to go a mile or a mile and a quarter, and you train him to be a clock horse like America, you'd end up with nothing. You'd spend the next 12 months trying to get him to settle. You can't jump off in a turf race here and have the horse run keen with you because he's not going to finish out. So we tend to do it a bit slower and a bit more gradual. But of course there are unofficial timings now and we still have to do a certain time. You won't get away with a slow horse. But I don't think official times will ever work in Europe.”

Without the reliance on the clock, nuance becomes more important at European breeze-up sales.

“There are people who read it very different,” Williamson said. “Some people say, 'Oh, he did a good time,' and some people will say, 'I didn't like his stride.' Whereas in America, it seems to be the fastest is the best, the fastest makes the most money. I don't think any of us breeze-up people in Europe want a professional clock because we tend to train them like that. And you have a huge amount of horses in America breezing in blinkers. I don't think any horse has ever breezed in blinkers in Europe. Straight away, it would be like a red rag, they'd say 'What's wrong with him?' Which tells you the difference. They don't need to see them go that fast here, but once they have nice action and they do it well at a nice dial, I think it's better than trying to break the clock.”

Not trying to beat the clock also allows European pinhookers added time to allow yearlings to overcome issues that their American counterparts might not have the luxury of waiting out.

“I suppose the one thing you can take out of it, you can slightly, as a pinhooker, buy a horse that's a little more backward maybe as a yearling,” Williamson said. “I don't mean necessarily backward, but maybe a big horse. And you can gradually take your time and then if he has natural ability, well he's going to breeze well anyway. In America, they seem to be the big strong horses with big backsides that people buy for breezing. But here, you can buy a horse that looks like a 1 1/4-mile horse to go breezing and give him that little bit of time. I don't really know anything about the American set-up, but here you can [give them extra time]. You still put them into the routine and get them going into the system, but they don't have to be galloping to break a clock. So you can actually give them a week off here or there and a few days off and maybe have a trot out tomorrow rather than go off cantering or galloping again. So you can forgive a little.”

Asked what changes he might like to see in the yearling sales in America, Williamson said, “You need to keep the horsemanship in it. There are certain things–like every single vendor in America mentions sesamoiditis. Well, it's up to yourself to take a chance. We've all bought horses over the years that had moderate X-rays and have been perfect through their racing careers. So, it's not the end of the world, but you are taking a risk.”

Check out previous installments of The X-Ray Files: with Tom McCrocklin, David Ingordo, Liz Crow, Ciaran Dunne, Bill Heiligbrodt, Wesley Ward, and Elliott Walden.

The post The X-Ray Files: Norman Williamson appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The leading breeze-up handler, who also plays a major role in the Amo Racing operation, flew back to Ireland following inspections but lot 48 clearly made a lasting impression with Aguiar, who saw off stiff opposition for the Highclere Stud-drafted colt remotely.

Speaking after the sale, Aguiar said, “He really reminded me of Bucanero Fuerte when I bought him as a yearling. He's got a good loose walk, he's very athletic and has a good pedigree. If he works out I think he could be another Bucanero Fuerte. I see a lot of value in this horse at that price.” 

Bucanero Fuerte cost €165,000 at last year's August Sale at Arqana. He became an important first Group 1 winner for Amo Racing when landing the Phoenix S. at the Curragh and is as short as 8-1 with some firms for next year's 2,000 Guineas. 

Aguiar revealed that a number of options are open to his latest acquisition by the stallion and said the half-brother to Flying Childers S. winner Trillium was a standout for him in the sale. 

“I bought him for myself at the moment but we'll see, maybe later on I could have a partner in the horse,” he said. “I'll get him home, break him in and see how he's going before deciding what I do with him. He could breeze or race but I like him a lot and for me he really stood out in this sale.” 

Wootton Bassett continues to go from strength to strength and the Coolmore-based stallion's exploits on Tuesday came after a sensational August Sale at Arqana where 21 were sold for an average of €378,810.

Like Arqana, the trade at Doncaster was strong, with the opening day top lot one of 18 horses to make six figures. Of the 218 lots offered, 183 sold at a clearance rate of 84%. The aggregate was up 1% on last year at £9,082,000 while the average climbed 10% to £49,629 and the median stood at £36,000. 

!@Robsonadeaguiar goes to £200,000 to secure Lot 48, the @JakeJWarren consigned Wootton Bassett half-brother to the G2 winner TRILLIUM. #GoffsPremier pic.twitter.com/KO8e7nTmmQ

— Goffs UK (@GoffsUK) August 29, 2023

Johnston Snaps Up Sister To Sacred Angel

Sacred Angel has proved herself one of the best horses in Charlie Johnston's stable this season in winning the G3 Princess Margaret S. at Ascot and the trainer went to £175,000 to secure her sister from Yeomanstown Stud. 

Last seen finishing fourth behind Vandeek in the Prix Morny, Nurlan Bizakov's Sacred Angel will now be aimed at the Cheveley Park, and her little sister was purchased on behalf of the same owner. 

Johnston explained of lot 160, “She's for Nurlan Bizakov who now owns Sacred Angel. Things have gone fantastic since he acquired her and we were delighted with her run in the Prix Morny. She will almost certainly go to the Cheveley Park next and let's hope lightning can strike twice as we were keen to get the sister.”

He added, “I think there are similarities and this filly is a bit more backward than Sacred Angel was at this time last year. She will get broken in fairly quickly now and then get turned away. She has the same athleticism as Sacred Angel. Delighted to get her.”

Sacred Angel came out of this sale last year and was originally knocked down to John Dance's Manor House Farm for £52,000. She won her maiden at Newmarket in the colours of the Titanium Racing Club before switching ownership to Bizakov. 

The Sumbe boss reaped immediate rewards when Sacred Angel landed the Princess Margaret and was then beaten just under five lengths by Vandeek (GB) in the Morny, a race which is sponsored by the French stud. 

Explaining how the relationship came about, Johnston said, “This is Sumbe's first year sponsoring the Morny and Nurlan was keen to have a runner in it. They were on the hunt for suitable horses in the months leading up to the race and Richard Knight [bloodstock agent] got in touch off the back of her winning her maiden at Newmarket.”

He added, “Could I have said to him that the filly was capable of holding her own in Group 1 company at that point? No. But we were already thinking that her next start would be in the Princess Margaret. It was a bit of a punt with regards to the Morny but it worked out fantastically well.”

Sacred Angel is out of Sacred Aspect (Ire) (Haatef), herself a speedy two-year-old for Ken Condon back in 2013 when landing a listed event over five furlongs at Tipperary.

The @YeomanstownStud consigned Lot 160, a Dark Angel own sister to the Group 3 winner SACRED ANGEL, is knocked down to @Johnston_Racing for £175,000. #GoffsPremier pic.twitter.com/9iZrYtJHtz

— Goffs UK (@GoffsUK) August 29, 2023

'The Sire Is Absolutely On Fire' – Williamson Keen On Havana Grey Colt

Vandeek (GB) has flown the flag for the breeze-ups this season with a scintillating two-year-old campaign that featured Group 1 glory in the Prix Morny earlier this month and Norman Williamson pushed the boat out to secure what he hopes could be the next top colt by Havana Grey {GB}) for £120,000. 

Bought alongside Mags O'Toole, Williamson had to fend off a strong challenge from Roderick Kavanagh, who transformed Vandeek from a 42,000gns yearling purchase into a 625,000gns breeze-up sensation at the Craven Sale. 

Williamson has never breezed a Havana Grey before but said he was keen to snap up the colt from Whitsbury Manor Stud with a view towards the premier sales in the spring. 

“He has been bought to breeze and we all saw what Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) did this year,” Williamson said. 

“The sire is absolutely on fire and I'm delighted to get him. He looks as though he might need a little bit of time but he's a great mover and he has size and scope.

“I haven't breezed a Havana Grey before–I haven't been able to buy one. We had to stretch to get this lad but that's what it has been like at all of the markets. The better ones are making a premium.”

Asked if the colt being by Havana Grey played an important part in the buying of lot 91, Williamson replied, “It is very important at the other end. Of course they have to breeze well but, the plus here–which gave me an extra kick–was the fact he is out of a Pivotal (GB) mare. That's a plus. But he has a lot of size and scope to him and I think in the spring he will turn into a fine horse. Hopefully.”

• Who said the smaller sums don't make a big difference? For Billy Kelly, son of bloodstock agent Peter, his £36,000 Tasleet (GB) filly represented a sizable profit given he bought the horse for just 6,000gns as a foal at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale. The 18-year-old completed his leaving certificate this year and owned the Tasleet [lot 147] in partnership with Paul Winters. Asked what he planned on doing with the proceeds of the sale and Kelly's reply was “go again”.
• David Loughnane has a £180,000 Blue Point (Ire) colt to look forward to next year after Ed Sackville purchased lot 197 on behalf of an unnamed British owner. The colt was consigned by Longview Stud and is out of the listed-placed So Hi Society (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}). Sackville said, “He was a real standout and the sire needs no introduction. He's out of a fast race filly and the pedigree goes back to a lovely Wildenstein family. He will be trained by David Loughnane, who has a good record with two-year-olds.”
• Alastair Donald has had great success purchasing on behalf of PK Siu, notably with Stormy Antarctic (GB) (Stormy Atlantic) and more recently G3 Hampton Court S. winner Waipiro (Ire) (Australia {GB}). The top agent added lot 84, an Eathlight (Ire) filly from Jamie Railton's draft, for £160,000 on behalf of the owner.
• Anna Sundstrom's good run continued when lot 60, a Havana Gold (Ire) colt purchased with Filip Zwicky at the Goffs November Foal Sale for €44,000, rocked into £85,000 to Howson and Houldsworth/Jamie Insole. The sale came off the back of a bonanza of results at Arqana for the Coulonces operator that included a €1 million Wootton Bassett colt to Yoshito Yahagi. Interestingly, Insole is the former assistant trainer to Charlie Hills and has recently joined Dr Richard Newland on the licence. The pair will operate a dual-purpose training facility.
• As well as signing for a host of horses for his father Richard and landing the buy of the day in the shape of lot 121, Peter Fahey enjoyed a productive session in purchasing on behalf of Karl Burke, Kevin Ryan and Clive Cox. Fahey landed seven yearlings all told on Tuesday to the tune of £419,000 which represented something of a breakout sale for the young agent.
• One of the more interesting stories to emerge from this sale last year was the strength of Richard Hughes and the trainer once again flexed his buying power by signing for four yearlings for £330,000. Hughes bought 11 yearlings for a total of £744,000 last year and his Tuesday purchases were headed by a £160,000 Sea The Stars (Ire) filly from Barton Stud.

Lot 197, the @longviewstud consigned colt by leading FSS Blue Point (@DarleyEurope) out of a G2 placed mare is purchased by @SackvilleDonald for £180,000 at #GoffsPremier pic.twitter.com/7aZxPk35tz

— Goffs UK (@GoffsUK) August 29, 2023

Bromley Lands “Wish List” Mehmas For New Client And Classic-Winning Owner 

Classic-winning owner Phil Cunningham snapped up the services of ace agent Anthony Bromley of Highflyer to secure five yearlings for £422,000, headed by a Mehmas (Ire) colt from Tally-Ho Stud for £145,000.

The brief, according to Bromley, was simple; “fast ones,” for Cunningam, who owned 2,000 Guineas winner Cockney Rebel (Ire). In lot 97, the agent picked up a speedy-looking colt for Richard Spencer to go to war with next season. 

Standing alongside the trainer, Bromley said, “We've got three so far today. Two-year-olds and fast ones, that's the plan. Mehmas was on our wish list if we could get one. This looked like the archetypal Mehmas–all square, good bum on him, walks well, speedy family and the dam has had a good record. She was fast and there are some good ratings out of the dam.”

He added, “It just ticked all the boxes apart from the fact he was getting expensive! I don't normally spend that high but he was a proper two-year-old type and we really hope he can do well for Phil. Excited.”

Bromley also picked up a Mohaather (GB) colt from Barton Stud for £70,000 and an Advertise colt from Lynn Lodge Stud for £40,000 on behalf of his new client and praised the stock on offer at the sale. 

He said, “The vendors have really supported the sale well and they are being rewarded with what looks to be pretty decent trade. It must be said that the sales race [Harry's Half Million] is a great incentive.”

After purchasing the Mehmas, Bromley and Spencer landed another colt Mohaather (GB) [lot 185 for £95,000] and one by Kodiac (GB) [lot 156 for £72,000].

Buy Of The Day

The River Boyne (Ire) colt that Peter Fahey sourced from Tara Stud for just £15,000 looks well bought. 

A ball of speed, he is exactly the type of yearling that Henry Beeby spoke of as being synonymous with this sale. 

By first-season sire River Boyne, who won his Grade I in America before returning home to Tara Stud, the colt will be trained by the agent's father Richard. 

At £15,000, he can run in the lower class maidens in the north of England and he looks early so can be expected to be out in the first few weeks of the season. 

He's not that light on pedigree, either. Out of a Manduro (Ger) mare Princess Eva (Fr), herself a half-sister to Covert Love (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}), she has already produced a black-type winner, albeit in Italy. Given the strength of the trade at Doncaster on Tuesday, the River Boyne colt looks decent business. 

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Oliver St Lawrence bought a quality-looking Mohaather filly from Barton Stud for £75,000. 

Although above the average for the Tuesday trade, lot 125 boasts a good pedigree being a half-sister to the listed winner and Group 2-placed Sir Boris (Ire) (Due Diligence).

The filly was one of the nicest offerings by Mohaather to hit the sale ground this week and one to keep track of, for sure.

There is a strong chance, however, that the best transaction of the day did not happen on the sales ground at Doncaster, but a couple of miles down the road in an antique shop in the town centre. 

For just forty quid, bloodstock agent Peter Kelly unearthed a vintage top hat that should have cost many multiples of that initial outlay. Hats off, Peter!

The post The Next Bucanero Fuerte? Aguiar Lands 200k Wootton Bassett At Doncaster appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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There's scarcely anything more exciting than the eve of a major sale and they don't come much bigger than the Craven. 

This is where Classic winners Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}) were found and the roll of honour does not stop there. Everything is up for grabs at Tattersalls over the next two days and few people know this better than Norman Williamson, who sold Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Native Trail to Godolphin here in 2021. 

Williamson offers three colts through his hugely successful Oak Tree Farm operation this year–by Mehmas (Ire), No Nay Never and Blue Point (Ire), hotly tipped for first-season sire honours by some of the finest minds in the game. 

And the man with the Midas Touch reports footfall ahead of the sale to be encouraging. 

Williamson said, “We've got three nice colts here. The horses are trotting up sound after the breeze, which is a huge relief because, until you get to this stage, you haven't jumped through the hoops.”

He added, “The bar keeps lifting and so does the standard of horses at the breeze-ups. Obviously, it's easy to see that by the results. But the standard has been lifted by the breeze-up consignors year after year. 

“There's only a small bunch of consignors but, John Cullinane always says it, we're punching above our weight. It seems to be working–the standard of breezing is getting so high and so too is the competition. That means it costs a lot of money to be competitive and therefore the risks are getting higher. You have to have your ducks in a row.”

Native Trail was not the only Classic winner to benefit from Williamson's tutelage, as Roger Varian's St Leger hero Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) also came through the Oak Tree Farm breeze-up system at Arqana.

Therefore, it was hardly surprising that Williamson's corner down at the Highflyer Paddocks on the sale grounds was one of the busiest going and, in between shows to top bloodstock agents Mark McStay, Peter and Ross Doyle and BBA Ireland's Michael Donohoe, he outlined his hopes about the sale that kicks off at 5.30pm on Tuesday. 

“Mehmas and No Nay Never are two great sires and Mehmas is upgrading his mares. This Mehmas [lot 2] of mine has an excellent pedigree being a half-brother to Insinuendo (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), who won the Group 3 [Park Express S.] for Willie McCreery at the Curragh the other day. He's got lots going for him and is a real good-looking horse. The No Nay Never [118] is a big horse but did a beautiful breeze. And of course all of the talk is for Blue Point–he's already had his winners and I think it was quite obvious why there is so much talk about the sire watching them breeze. They are quick and my horse is fast. The unofficial clock says he's [199] very fast so let's hope we get rewarded.”

He added, “I have only one horse for day one and, usually at this sale, the buyers don't normally look at the day one and day two horses together, but they seem to be looking at every horse today which is a good sign. I'd have to say that, for the evening of the breeze day, we've been very busy. We haven't seen many international buyers around but we're hoping to see them tomorrow.”

Roderic Kavanagh | Tattersalls

It shouldn't go unnoticed that the fingerprints of Peter and Antoinette Kavanagh's Kildaragh Stud are all over the Native Trail success story, given they pinhooked the Classic winner as a foal to yearling. That is rather apt, as their son Roderic stands on the brink of recording notable success at this year's Craven Breeze-Up Sale after two of his Glending Stables-drafted colts topped the unofficial times. Put simply, Kavanagh can stick his chest out on Tuesday knowing he has two blisteringly quick colts on his hands, by Equiano (Fr) and Havana Grey (GB), respectively. 

What's more interesting is that the Equiano is a full-brother to the brilliant three-time Group 1-winning sprinter The Tin Man (GB).

“He was very professional–just enjoys doing it and has always been the same,” Kavanagh said of the Equiano colt [9]. “He's very like his dad with probably a bit more motion. In fairness, a lot of the credit has to go to everyone in Newsells Park Stud. When I went down to look at their horses at Book 2 here in October, I asked them if there was anything getting missed out of all of their horses. They put forward the Equiano, in fairness to them. The mare [Persario (GB) (Bishop Of Cashel {GB})] is getting on in years but she doesn't miss too often. I'd say this is a very talented horse, hopefully.”

He added, “The Havana Grey [198] is another horse who has shown an awful lot of ability. They showed up on the day and the man [Gordon Power] riding them was a big help–I think he rode four of the top six times. 

“We're still a million miles away and there's lots of water to flow under the bridge between now and the sale but hopefully it comes together. There's no reason why it won't because a lot of the right people are here and, when we have the models to match up with the performances, I think we should be okay.”

So, any nerves?

“After a good day like today, you wouldn't be as nervous. But hopefully it'll come together. They're not standing us a fortune, you know, they were 52,000gns and 42,000gns each, so I think we should be okay. 

“We're breezing horses for five or six years now and we've had a good run. We breezed Gis A Sub (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who was second in the Gimcrack, and we also had a good horse called Tuscan (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), who was rated 105. In a short space of time we've had a few good ones.”

The same can be said for the Craven Sale on the whole, which is something the ever-enthusiastic Jimmy George, marketing director at Tattersalls, was keen to get across on Monday evening. 

“The breeze was well-attended and thankfully the weather was kind to us,” he said in a typically upbeat fashion. “There are some very smart two-year-olds in the sale and they breezed very well so all of the ingredients are in place for a good sale. The sale ground was pretty busy after the breeze and we're looking forward to tomorrow now. 

“The racecourse is the best possible barometer to measure any sale on and the results from the Craven Sale have been pretty spectacular in recent years, not least with Native Trail and Cachet winning Classics last season. That is the best possible advertisement for the Craven Sale which continues to go from strength to strength.”

George added, “It should also be said that it doesn't go unnoticed the bonuses that are on offer to buyers at the Craven Sale. For every Class 4 novice or better, there is an extra £15,000 bonus on top of the prize-money and for any two-year-old who goes on to win at Royal Ascot or indeed in any Group 1 race, there are hefty bonuses to be won as well. That has certainly caught the imagination.

“We have a pretty diverse crew of buyers in attendance, which is great to see. We have purchasers from America, some Japanese interests, representation from the Gulf and Hong Kong and broader Europe.”

The post “The Bar Keeps Lifting” – Tattersalls Craven Sale Kicks Off On Tuesday  appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“It is good to be back here,” says Freddy Powell, Arqana's executive director. “But we are still very grateful to Goffs UK for hosting us for two years. We know our own place better though and it's great to see the smile on everybody's face to be back in Deauville. Some of them are already saying that they can't wait to be back in August.”

It is easy to see why, for there is no more pleasing backdrop to the serious business of a horse sale than the seaside town where racehorses wander through the streets of a morning. With the horses in training back in their stables for the day, it is the turn of the next intake. In front of packed stands and a complimentary hot dog stall, juvenile after juvenile breezes down the back straight of Deauville's turf course with pleasing frequency, coats gleaming now that the winter is fully behind us.

“The consignors have done a wonderful job,” Powell says. “Obviously we have more time than the other sales, and especially with fillies at this time of the year, suddenly they start to look great. The feeling is that if you don't have a horse for the early races, what is the point in rushing them to a sale when you can come to Deauville in May.”

The horses don't just look good, however. There are some serious pedigrees among the original 145 catalogued and the seven wild-card entries. Just by Lope De Vega (Ire) alone you can find the full-brother to Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) (lot 17), winner of the Irish 2000 Guineas three years ago and now a member of the Irish National Stud roster. At the National Stud in Newmarket is the new recruit Lope Y Fernandez (Ire), and his full-sister pops up in the catalogue as lot 107. Both 2-year-olds hail from the draft of Church Farm & Horse Park Stud.

“We don't worry so much about pushing them to do a really fast time,” says Roger Marley of Church Farm as he watches the breeze with his consigning partner John Cullinan. “I like them to be moving well within themselves and finishing off nicely.”

He adds as their Sea The Moon (Ger) colt (lot 140) gallops by easily under jockey Gary Halpin. “I'm delighted with that, they've breezed really well today.”

Among the onlookers are visitors from America, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Germany, Scandinavia and beyond. Bhupat Seemar, who had his first taste of the Kentucky Derby experience with Arqana graduate Summer Is Tomorrow (Summer Front) last Saturday, sits alongside his uncle Satish, from whom he took over the training licence in Dubai last year. Marc Chan, who is represented by former Arqana August yearling New Mandate (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) in Saturday's G1 Lockinge S., is in attendance with agent Jamie McCalmont, and also at the sale is Dean Reeves of GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man fame.

“Obviously through War Of Will (War Front), winning the Preakness with a horse who was sold as a 2-year-old in France was a great thing for us,” says Powell. “But for the last few years we have had Kentucky Derby contenders and that's quite special.

“It shows as well the know-how of our horsemen in Europe, that they are preparing horses to run all over the world.”

He adds, “We are very thankful to France Galop and how they work the Deauville track to ensure it is perfect for the breeze. And we are grateful to the trainers here who had to finish earlier this morning for the breeze, and who cope with not being able to use the all-weather track for a few days. But they understand that it is great for people from all over the world to come here to see all the amazing facilities that Deauville has, and perhaps they will end up having a horse trained here. It's a wonderful showcase.”

Norman Williamson, the consignor of War Of Will at this sale four years ago, offers a pair of juveniles from his Oak Tree Farm, including a Kingman (GB) colt from the Lordship Stud family of Swiss Lake (GB) (Indian Ridge {GB}). As lot 72, he was among the fastest breezers of the day.

“They did a great job on the ground,” Williamson notes. “It was watered every night and they had a great covering of grass. It is quick ground but these are Flat horses and I thought there was a good cover of grass on it. There seems to be a lot of people around here so hopefully it ends up being a very good sale.”

Come Friday night, we will know just how good the sale has been, but the early signs are more than encouraging.

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Whatever he can do at three, Native Trail has already catapulted his stud value way beyond the 210,000gns paid by Godolphin to secure him from the Oak Tree consignment of Norman Williamson. In turn, however, he had already been brilliantly found by Williamson and colleague Mags O'Toole for just 67,000gns from Kildaragh Stud in the same ring the previous October. That was less than a third of the average transaction in Book 1 that year. Certainly, Williamson and O'Toole were expecting him to make a lot more as a yearling. They didn't even get him vetted. But you never know in this game, and Williamson followed the colt into the ring–just in case.

And, sure enough, suddenly the horse was stalling at 50,000gns, 55,000gns. It looked like he might slip through the cracks. Williamson had already made a bid before he spotted Roderic Kavanagh, whose father Peter had perceived the colt's potential at an even earlier stage, pinhooking him (through Sam Sangster) as a foal for €50,000 at the Arqana December Sale, where he had been offered by breeders Haras d'Haspel.

Williamson, after breezing three colts here on Monday morning, reiterated his gratitude to the vendors. “I saw Roderic standing in front of me and I went over and said, 'Is this horse okay?'” he recalled. “And when he said, '100%, in every way,' I bid again–and next thing I knew, I had bought him. You do need that bit of luck. But then I suppose that's why we go through all the sales, why we walk round and work so hard. I bought one horse out of Book 1, and that was him. It just shows that everyone has a chance.”

But they do say that you make your own luck. And, quite apart from showing the necessary diligence in a prohibitive catalogue for pinhookers, Williamson had already been prepared to see past the obvious. This was not a model that would necessarily have appealed to everyone, for this particular job, whatever his price.

“I suppose he was very big and looked like he might take time,” Williamson said. “But I thought he had a great hip on him–and that he wouldn't. I suppose the other thing that swayed me was the pedigree. [Juddmonte family of Distant Music (Distant View), Calyx (GB) (Kingman {GB}) etc.]. But looking at him, you'd have to say he didn't look like a breezer; he didn't look a fast, sharp horse–which he probably isn't. But he's a very, very good one.”

While he acknowledges that Native Trail's success since can only be good for Oak Tree, Williamson stresses that the colt has also contributed to a wider awareness.

“It does a lot for the business but it does a lot for breeze-ups, too–and that's the 'brand' we're all trying to sell,” he said.    “We're not selling two-furlong horses. We're trying to sell racehorses. It's gone more and more professional, all the vendors are doing a fantastic job, and the results are amazing.”

Other graduates from last year's sale duly include Asymmetric (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}), brought here by Greenhills Farm and subsequently winner of the G2 Richmond S.; and Go Bears Go (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}), sold by Aguair Bloodstock before winning the G2 Railway S. Both were knocked down for 150,000gns (respectively in the names of Stephen Hillen Bloodstock and A.C. Elliott, Agent/Amo Racing).

But then the standard of breeze-up stock has been progressing for several years now–along, it must be said, with its value. For the vogue to be sustainable, however, it's been essential for the horses to show that they are not merely precocious. A lot of people claim that the stopwatch is only one factor in their investment, but that's not always apparent in their spending. It's worth stressing, then, that Native Trail himself would have caught the eye of any horseman doing things the old-fashioned way.

“He changed his legs a lot,” Williamson recalled. “But the best part of his breeze was when he passed the line. When others are slowing down, he met the rising ground like he'd have gone on to the clock tower. He wasn't stopping. And it was the same in the [G1] Dewhurst, and the same in the Curragh. When he gets to that last furlong, he's starting to motor. He was still probably in top 30, I supposed, time-wise. But a lot of judges saw beyond the clock, and of course you have people reading the gallop-out, too. Anyway, thankfully there's no point going back through the top 10 times now. He was the best horse here, and he's proved it.”

Happily, Williamson feels that the European market has matured in such a way as to resist the exorbitant value sometimes placed on the “bullet” breeze at 2-year-old sales in the U.S., where times are official.

“Here there's people reading two furlongs, there's people reading the second furlong, there's people reading the gallop-out,” he explained. “So you've three or four chances of selling your horse. Whereas in America you have that one time, and that's it. But then racing on dirt is different. They're flat out from the start and it's the horse that goes the fastest for the longest. Here they have to settle. If you see a horse at the breezes here jumping off and running away, well, bar he's a sprinter, he's going to be no good. They need to start off half-relaxed and to keep quickening. So you have to train them that way, to end up with a good horse.”

The breadth of the available spectrum explains why Alan King and Anthony Bromley of Highflyer, for instance, have long enjoyed dredging the breeze-ups for staying pedigrees, most notably finding star stayer Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) at the Guineas Sale here in 2018 for just 31,000gns. Before that, Federico Barberini bought subsequent G1 Ascot Gold Cup winner Trip To Paris (Ire) (Champs Elysees (GB) for 20,000gns at the equivalent auction; while Williamson himself once sold another smart stayer, Nearly Caught (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), to Hughie Morrison.

“He was a beautiful ride and I was thinking that I'd love to keep him as a bumper horse,” Williamson recalled. “But I'd have had to wait two years to run him, so when Hughie showed an interest I said, 'Listen, take the horse home for two weeks and see what you think.' And a couple of weeks later he rang me, said he liked him, and we did a deal, for not a lot of money. And the horse went on to be a Group 2 winner and was placed in the [G1 Prix du] Cadran. But everyone had walked past the door, because he'd be 'too slow'. So it's fantastic that everyone has a chance, if they're prepared to go beyond the clocks.”

That said, this particular sale obviously showcases elite prospects and there was corresponding tension as they showed their wares on the Rowley Mile. While spectators could enjoy the spring sunshine, there was a challenging headwind and due credit should go to those youngsters that saw out the climb towards that distant horizon with enthusiasm.

Williamson was delighted with all three of his charges, stabled in boxes adjacent to the one that housed Native Trail last year.

He sounds especially excited by the War Front colt offered as Lot 39. Out of a graded stakes-placed Giant's Causeway mare, he's another to be sieved out of a Book 1–this time at Keeneland. Perhaps it will prove worth reminding ourselves that Williamson fished another son of the same stallion from the front of the same sale in 2017, and he became GI Preakness S. winner War Of Will before joining his sire at Claiborne. Just like with Native Trail, that was a case of putting in your groundwork: he was a half-brother to Pathfork (Distorted Humor), who'd done so well in Europe, and Williamson was quick to do a deal once he had failed to meet expectations in the ring.

“But I can't take any credit for this one,” Williamson said. “My brother-in-law Tim Hyde [Jr.] rang me said that there was this beautiful War Front that wasn't sold, he sent me a video and I said, 'Jesus yes, see if you can get him.' He breezed beautiful, and I heard he did a very good time. He's a big horse, 16.1, but I wasn't worried about the [drying] ground, he's got such a lot of ability I knew he'd handle it. I do think a lot of him.”

But the pair selling on Wednesday also stepped right up to the plate. “The Camelot [126] is going be a mile-and-a-quarter horse,” Williamson said. “He's a really good-looking horse, a great mover, with a lot of strength. The Oasis Dream [128] is another beautiful, great-moving horse, he was good on the clock too. He's out of a sister to Mecca's Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), so he needs to be quite sharp–but he looks it.”

Despite an exotic preliminary leg in Dubai this year, this auction marks the start of the regular European breeze-up calendar. And for all the remarkable resilience of the bloodstock market during and after the pandemic, it's plainly a relief to get back onto an even keel. This sector, after all, was not only the first to be broadsided by Covid, in 2020, but was also first to test the water last year.

“Absolutely,” Williamson said. “For the last two years you've had sales moving, you've been at home with horses ready to roll, and the next thing it's another two weeks; or horses going to France had to go to Doncaster; all that kind of thing. So it has been a bit of a nightmare. Going into the yearling sales last year was very uncertain, and the market was remarkable. It was very hard to buy, horses were making triple what you thought they were worth.

“Remember the breeze-up vendors are now buying better-class horses, better pedigrees, and they're really putting their necks on the line. If you go out there and your horse doesn't do respectably–if it doesn't face the headwind, or it ducks across the track–it's over, bar you love him so much that you put him into training. But it's all telling in the results on the track.”

Native Trail, moreover, is also a poster boy for a bonus scheme introduced by Tattersalls last year. He received £125,000 (split 4:1 between buyer and vendor) as the first 2021 Craven Breeze-Up graduate to win any of the 15 European Group 1 prizes open to 2-year-olds. The same sum will also be offered, again, to the first to win any of the juvenile prizes at Royal Ascot this summer. Along with the standard bonus of £15,000 for winners of qualifying Bonus Scheme races, many of these “breezers” are going to benefit from a following wind.

Whether our industry can remain immune to fresh turbulence in the wider world remains to be seen. But there's certainly a helpful slipstream from Native Trail.

“Listen, it's what we do it for,” Williamson concluded. “You obviously have to make a living: you have to make the money that pays for everything else. But at the end of the day, it's fantastic to have gone to Book 1 and found a champion.”

The first session begins at 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday. By then, who knows, this sale may have enjoyed yet another boost. Cachet (Ire) is disputing favouritism in the G3 Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn S. after her Group 1 podium on the same track last autumn, and then going down by just a length at the Breeders' Cup. This time last year, she was in town as an Aclaim (Ire) filly from Hyde Park Stud, listed as Lot 68. She was bought by Highclere Agency for 60,000gns.

One way or another, the breeze-up Trail remains hot.

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Not one for the clock-watchers, then, but that's no bad thing, and the 69 horses set to sell on Wednesday evening at Meydan racecourse weren't exactly hanging around as they skipped across the dark Tapeta all-weather surface of the Meydan training track.

As we have come to expect from this seasoned band of breeze-up vendors from Ireland and Britain, an impressive array of young bloodstock was on show on Tuesday morning. The consignors flitted to and fro, some looking a little more pensive than others, but they will have been heartened by the group of potential buyers perched trackside on steps and benches to witness this inaugural venture laid on by the Dubai Racing Club in association with Goffs. Among them was Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum, proudly supporting a baseball cap with the name of his dual Group 1 winner Perfect Power (Ire), who is a shining example amid the breeze-up graduates of 2021. Sitting alongside the sheikh was Richard Brown, the man who bought not only Perfect Power but also his sire Ardad (Ire), another classy breezer, both from their breeder Tally-Ho Stud.

The man in the driving seat for much of the project has been Goffs' Tom Taaffe, who not so long ago could have been found around this time of year sending strapping steeplechasers to Cheltenham. The former trainer appears to have a pretty breezy attitude to life in general, and he must have drawn some satisfaction watching on as the canters, gallops – call them what you will – were conducted without incident. 

Up on the balcony of the track's watch tower was 'the voice' of Goffs, group chief executive Henry Beeby, who must have felt almost at home, as if he was on his elevated rostrum in Ireland, only this time a little warmer and brighter. To Beeby's mellifluous backing track the 2-year-olds appeared one by one, around the turn and down the straight, cantering off into the distance with the vast Meydan grandstand as a backdrop. On Wednesday evening they will be auctioned off in its shadow, with the business end of the sale taking place in the Meydan winner's enclosure – a place to which many of their eventual buyers will no doubt hope to return one day.

“It went like clockwork,” said Beeby after the breeze show. “As a group the horses breezed exceptionally well. I think the breeze-up vendors have really risen to the challenge and given us a lovely bunch of horses. It's a new venture and they have taken a chance but the conditions that the Dubai Racing Club has put in place have given them confidence.”

The general consensus among those who put their money into finding horses to bring to Dubai at last year's yearling sales is that the operation has run smoothly so far, with plenty of vendors having reported being very busy through the viewing sessions. Time will tell if that interest turns into a decent return for them on this first date in the 2-year-old sales calendar, but present indications are encouraging.

Mickey Cleere of MC Thoroughbreds was the guinea pig, both as consignor and rider, when breezing lot 1, his colt by Gun Runner, the stallion who was runner-up to Arrogate in the Dubai World Cup five years ago. The bay colt is out of the 10-time winner Bank Audit (Wild Rush), whose victories include two at Grade II level.

“We're absolutely delighted to be here and to be a part of this sale,” said Cleere, who has three juveniles catalogued, including the only one by America's champion sire Into Mischief. “The horses travelled over great, the facilities are top class and all the right people seem to be here looking. I think it should be a success looking at the quality of horses here. There seem to be a lot of people with very nice horses, and we think we have nice horses too. The three of them are very different but they are nice and by the right sires with decent pedigrees.”

Cleere's fellow breeze riders included an accomplished gang of Irish jockeys, featuring Gary Halpin, Pat Dobbs, Andrew Slattery and Rory Cleary, while Louis Steward, who is set to ride Volcanic Sky (GB) for Saeed Bin Suroor in Saturday's Dubai Gold Cup, also took to the saddle. And for National Hunt fans of a certain vintage, there was the chance to see Norman Williamson gather up his reins again aboard two horses to be sold under his Oak Tree Farm banner. For all his success at Cheltenham and beyond, Williamson is just as well known in these circles as the vendor of War Of Will (War Front) and last season's European champion 2-year-old, Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

Among his offerings in Dubai is a French-bred colt who will become the first son of Godolphin's Group 1 winner Cloth Of Stars (Ire) to be offered at a breeze-up sale. Slated as lot 29, he looked very professional in his breeze on Tuesday morning and hails from a family deep in European black type, his dam Mediteranea (Fr) being a Smart Strike half-sister to the Group/Grade 1 winner and young sire Erupt (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) as well as Listed winner Marie De Medici (Medicean {GB}).

American-sired juveniles outnumber their European counterparts in the catalogue, which intriguingly also includes a colt by Shadai stallion Daiwa Major (Jpn) out of the former champion filly Peeping Fawn (Danehill), who owns a pedigree to match her sparkling race record. A three-parts-brother to the Chesham S. winner and G1 Moyglare S. runner-up September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), he is consigned by Willie Browne's Mocklershill as lot 31.

Looking ahead to Wednesday'a main event, Henry Beeby added, “We're very hopeful. With a new venture you never know but I think the conditions we find ourselves in now, with quality horses, the interest pre-sale and at the breeze-up, it's looking in good shape.

“We are very grateful to Sheikh Rashid at the Dubai Racing Club for appointing us. It was a big vote of confidence in Goffs and we appreciate it.”

Uniquely for a Thoroughbred auction, all buyers have to pre-register and, in the style of fine art auctions, will be issued with a paddle with which to bid. The sale is set to commence at 5pm local time. At the time of writing, there have been three withdrawals (lots 7, 35 and 58). For the full catalogue and to view the breeze-up videos, please click here.

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